Rebirth Tokyo 1986

Chapter 276 Angry, then gone

"A huge shame, Kuwait released a list of thanks, without mentioning Japan"

"We donated $130 billion to support the just war, but Kuwait didn't include us on its thank you list"

"Kuwait is an ungrateful villain country that doesn't even thank its lifesaver"

……

After Kuwait regained its sovereignty, it immediately published a list of thanks in New York, the United States.

However, due to the fact that Japan only made donations and did not provide troops, and because it lacked political influence, it was not mentioned on the list at all.

In this regard, the entire Japanese community was outraged and the media were also in an uproar.

Some people criticized Japan for not donating money, some called Kuwait ungrateful, some said Japan should send troops, and some felt humiliated...

In short, the whole country was in an uproar.

"Alas, I should have listened to my junior. I didn't expect Kuwait to be so shameless and not care about Japan being the second largest donor."

At the Takeshita Club fundraising dinner after the Gulf War, Keizo Obuchi sat uncomfortably next to Masato Takeshita.

He never expected that the Japanese government donated more than 100 billion US dollars but did not receive any thanks.

It can be said that Japan has now become a victim and a laughing stock of the world.

"There's nothing we can do about it. Who caused our country to lack political influence?"

Everyone who understands knows about Japan's international status after the war.

Even if the Middle Eastern countries don't give you face, you can't do anything about it.

Of course, Japan was embarrassed, but Kuwait wasn't much better.

Just because we didn't send troops, we won't thank the benefactor who donated more than 100 billion US dollars.

Too petty and too snobbish.

If something like this happens again next time, I guess not so many countries will donate.

It can be said that both sides suffer losses.

"It seems that Ozawa-san is right. We must get rid of the constitutional restrictions and restore our country's independence."

World War II was a disaster for Japan's Asian neighbors and for the Japanese people as well.

Countless people lost their lives or family members because of this twisted war.

Therefore, Japan's civilian class and intellectual class after the war were very afraid of the country's military expansion and chose to take a pacifist approach.

This is also the most important reason why Japan donated money generously to the Gulf War but was reluctant to send troops.

Politicians are elected by the people, so naturally they dare not go against public opinion in a major way.

What's the point of fighting a war? It's better to make more money with that time.

“It is right to restore sovereignty and independence, but we must first face up to history.”

Masato Takeshita certainly hopes that Japan can break free from American control and become sovereign and independent, but this is obviously impossible at the moment.

However, Japan is still able to gradually correct its historical mistakes.

In fact, throughout the 90s, Japan had already had a trend of correcting history.

Unfortunately, the Asian financial crisis in 97 dealt a heavy blow to the Japanese economy.

A large number of people lost their jobs and the country was struggling. Japan began to become conservative and social thought regressed.

"I hope so, but there are too many difficulties."

Obuchi Keizo, like other powerful figures in Japanese politics such as Takeshita Noboru and Tanaka Kakuei, is a typical nationalist.

If we can really get rid of the control of the United States, let alone apologize to Asian countries, even abolishing the emperor system can be discussed.

The problem now is that many of those who are most supportive of nationalism are opposed to an apology.

"When difficulties arise, we will gradually change. We are an Asian country and will increasingly rely on the large Asian market for development in the future."

“If we don’t face up to history, we will be abandoned by Asian countries sooner or later.”

Close cooperation between China and Japan is the most effective way for Japan to escape from long-term decline.

If Japan relies too much on the US market, it will never hope to get out of its economic difficulties.

"Well, I hope so."

Obuchi Keizo did not respond directly, but continued to evade the issue, which is also the common practice of most Japanese politicians.

Become an ostrich and don't respond to the problem directly.

Only a few politicians supported by the United States and those who may have broken their brains would explicitly deny history.

Since the future Prime Minister seemed to be in a dilemma, the young man decided not to dwell on the topic any more.

His current influence in the country is limited, and it is not appropriate for him to step to the forefront and ask people to choose sides.

"Tell me, Takeshita-senpai, do you have any ideas this time?"

Keisuke Obuchi couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when he found out that his junior fellow student no longer discussed historical issues.

He briefly organized his thoughts and said, "I think they want to expand our country's influence in all aspects, not just the economy."

Japan is now a world-class economic and cultural power. As for politics and military, it is at a third-rate level. It will not surpass India, let alone compare with China.

Therefore, idealistic politicians all want to increase the country's political and military influence.

"Well, let's work hard together."

Japan is now completely trying to catch fish by carving a mark on the boat.

When will they be able to face up to history and when will they be able to win the respect of China and South Korea, especially China.

When China also chooses to respect you, it will be easier to improve your national status.

Many times, you may not be capable enough, but if your partner is capable, he or she can also lead you to success.

China, which will create a new economic miracle in the future, is a good teammate who can lead you to success.

Soon, the banquet officially began. Takeshita Masato and Obuchi Keizo separated and went their separate ways to socialize.

This is another important factor why many people are keen to attend politicians' donation banquets, as it allows them to increase their network.

"Ozawa-san, you've been very successful lately."

Although Ichiro Ozawa later split from the Takeshita faction and became a member of the Keio Mita clan, he was also an Asianist.

Therefore, he was also in Masato Takeshita's social circle.

"No, we just suffered a great loss in this war."

Ichiro Ozawa was very angry and was furious that Japan was being ignored.

"Indeed, the other party went a little too far." The young man nodded in approval, but immediately added something veiled in his words: "But sometimes, suffering a loss is a blessing."

"Isn't it?"

Faced with the young man's question, the most promising young politician of the Takeshita faction also did not give a direct response.

"Maybe, but I really hope not."

Ichiro Ozawa was a favorite disciple of Kakuei Tanaka, and the greatest advocacy of the Tanaka faction was national independence.

This Kuwait thanksgiving event has directly aroused the patriotic enthusiasm of the Japanese people and may even shake the military restrictions of the peace constitution.

If this is really possible, national independence advocates such as Ichiro Ozawa will thank Kuwait.

The two chatted for a while about the domestic and international political and economic situation, and then tacitly chose to separate.

The banquet time is limited and more socializing is needed.

"Uncle Haneda, where is Senior Ichiro?"

Tsutomu Hata, a politician of little ability, is Ichiro Ozawa's best friend and political ally.

He was able to become prime minister later thanks to Ichiro Ozawa's behind-the-scenes dealings.

However, the relationship between Masato Takeshita and Tsutomu Hata was not due to the relationship between the young man and Ichiro Ozawa.

On the contrary, the two gradually got to know each other thanks to the introduction of Tsutomu Hata.

After all, the young man’s best friend is Tsutomu Hata’s little nephew.

"Ichiro doesn't really like this kind of occasion, let him be." "I see, that's in line with Ichiro's personality."

Sometimes, young people really envy their friends' attitude towards life.

Really cool.

But he is a person who cannot sit still and does not want to be too idle, so he simply cannot learn.

"I don't know when Uncle Haneda will hold the banquet. Don't forget to notify me when the time comes."

"Don't worry, I won't forget."

Masato Takeshita is a major donor, and no matter who else, Tsutomu Hata will never forget him.

There is nothing we can do about this.

The young man does not have sufficient roots in Japan and can only rely on his own employees and the Inamon clan.

The closeness of the Dao clan itself is far less than that of many political and economic families.

Therefore, if he wants to gain greater influence in the country, he has to spend money lavishly.

Especially when Xinghai Investment makes a fortune, we should donate more.

In fact, the educational donations made not long ago were of the same nature.

They all spend money to shut other people up and increase their national favorability and influence.

If you only have money but no influence, you will be slaughtered like a pig.

Of course, it doesn't matter if Masato Takeshita is a little stingy, because the fund has funds from many big shots and powerful forces.

But why not spend a little money to gain a better reputation?

Anyway, it's super easy for him to make money in the financial field, so it's not worth it to spend tens of billions of yen to increase his influence.

In addition to politicians, there are also many strong people participating in the economic field.

After Masato Takeshita finished chatting with Tsutomu Hata, he walked straight to CSK President Isao Okawa.

Many people may not be familiar with CSK, but when talking about its subsidiaries, many people will exclaim, "Ah, it's it."

This subsidiary is Sega, a Japanese gaming giant that once competed fiercely with Nintendo.

"President Okawa, good evening. I'm Masato Takeshita from Xinghai Games. It's our first meeting. Thank you for your guidance!"

"It's President Takeshita, I'm Isao Okawa, president of Sega's parent company. Please give me your guidance."

Isao Okawa was very curious about this Waseda genius and had long wanted to meet him.

Because he heard from his subordinates such as Nakayama Hayao that the failure of his own handheld game console was due to Star Ocean Games.

Yes, Sega's top management directly blamed the failure of the handheld console on the poor quality of the games.

As for the problem with the device itself, that is impossible.

They completely ignored the fact that their own color screen handheld game consoles consume too much battery and players simply cannot afford such a high expense.

This is the characteristic of Sega. The company's excessive pursuit of hardware performance has led to operational difficulties.

If Isao Okawa had not donated his property to Sega several times, Sega would definitely have gone bankrupt and split up later.

However, even so, Sega later basically gave up the hardware market and embarked on the path of a game software developer.

After the two exchanged business cards, Isao Okawa asked with a smile: "President Takeshita first introduced himself as the president of Xinghai Games. Do you like the game industry very much?"

"Yes, if I consider it just from the perspective of liking it, I do like the Star Ocean game the most."

Chips, mobile phones and other fields can only be considered as careers, games are his eternal love.

He loves to play both current arcade console games and future PC online games.

"Oh, so that's the case. I like games very much, too."

If we were to evaluate Nintendo and Sega, Nintendo is naturally greater. At the same time, in terms of the historical status of the two bosses in the gaming industry, Hiroya Yamauchi is far superior to Isao Okawa.

But if we just talk about the love for the gaming industry, Isao Okawa far surpasses Hiroshi Yamauchi.

Hiroshi Yamauchi doesn't play games at all, he only cares about Nintendo.

If the gaming industry doesn't work out, he will not hesitate to transform Nintendo.

Isao Okawa is a completely different type. Even though he knew Sega was in a desperate situation, he still continued to try his best to save it.

Later, he even donated most of his property to Sega.

Faced with such a gaming industry operator, it is hard for young people not to admire him.

Just as the young man's mind was automatically recalling, Isao Okawa asked impatiently.

"The Street Fighter produced by your company is a really good game. I wonder when our two companies can cooperate once?"

The emergence of "Street Fighter 2" shocked the entire gaming industry.

Both Nintendo and Sega hope that the game can be launched on their own console platforms.

"Well, there will be opportunities in the future, but right now we still have a contract with Nintendo for several years."

The monthly sales of Street Fighter 2 have exceeded 2 units, and it is expected that at least 20 units will be sold this year.

Calculated based on a price of RMB 50 per unit, the annual revenue exceeds RMB billion.

As for profits, they are also very high, reaching 700 billion yen.

With such exaggerated revenue and profits, Star Ocean Games would naturally not release Street Fighter on the console platform too early.

Because even if the game sales in the console market exceed the 500 million mark, it will only make tens or hundreds of billions, which is far less than what arcade games make.

Yes, you read that right, that’s how arcades made money in the 90s.

It was later calculated that the sales of Street Fighter 2 during the entire game cycle exceeded billion US dollars.

Most of them rely on arcade machines, and only a small number belong to consoles and other platforms.

The reason why Sega was able to compete with Nintendo in the 90s was entirely due to arcade machines.

Without the money made by the arcade division, Sega's console division would have gone bankrupt long ago.

This is also the main reason why Sega has serious internal strife.

Who would be willing to give away all the money earned by their own department to other departments?

Even if consoles really represent the future, it’s totally unacceptable.

The butt determines the head, and the seat determines the thoughts.

"Oh, what a pity."

"Don't feel sorry. This world is not static."

If there is a suitable opportunity, Young would not mind cooperating with Sega a few times.

"really?"

"of course."

Sega has a lot of outstanding talents. If we can take this opportunity to get to know a few of them, it will be easier to poach them in the future.

Or simply find an opportunity to acquire the entire Sega.

When a person dies, the light goes out.

Later, Sega was sold off as a burden by its parent company.

After a while, Kyocera President Kazuo Inamori walked up to the two of them with a smile.

"Okawa-san, Takeshita-san, what are you talking about? You look so happy."

This Japanese business saint also advocates leaving property to the company, so he has a good relationship with Isao Okawa.

As for his relationship with Masato Takeshita, it mainly originated from a transaction.

Kyocera is entering the telecommunications industry, but its strength is weak and no company is willing to produce mobile phones for Kyocera.

Later, Kyocera found the Xinghai Group, and Masato Takeshita decisively agreed.

The two of them also got to know each other through this opportunity, and their relationship became better and better.

After all, they all have similar values and belong to the same type of people.

(End of this chapter)